For many actors out there, being honored with an Academy Award is the dream. This year's Oscar nominations have made this a possibility for many artists, including a number of people of color. Halle Berry made history as the first Black woman to win Best Leading Actress back in 2002 for Monster's Ball. But she recently got honest about how pulling off that W didn't actually change her life and career much.
Berry has been open about her disappointment in still being the only Black woman to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Still, her teary-eyed speech remains an iconic part of film history. While speaking with The Cut, the star of the X-Men movies got real about what happened after she took home an Oscar. In her words:
That Oscar didn’t necessarily change the course of my career. After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door. While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning. Directors were still saying, ‘If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then it’s a Black movie. Black movies don’t sell overseas.’
Points were made. While Berry has a history-making achievement by winning her Oscar, the industry seemingly didn't change the way it perceived her. And as such, she continued having difficult conversations when it came to casting, and her being a Black woman. So not that much actually changed for her, although she is someone with a coveted golden statuette, officially known as the "Academy Award of Merit."
These comments by Halle Berry show how challenging it can be in the TV and film industry as a person of color. While she's consistently worked since snatching an Oscar, including her time as Bond Girl Jinx. But to this day she's still facing the same issues as other Black actresses who haven't managed to take home an Academy Award.
Over the past few years, the entertainment industry has been going through some changes, particularly related to the importance of diversity and representation onscreen. But there is still work to do, especially given the fact that no other Black women have been awarded Best Leading Actress. Although people of color have been recognized in other categories; just last year Zoe Saldaña won Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription).
Halle Berry has a number of exciting projects coming down the line, including Crime 101, which is releasing February 13th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Fans are also hoping she'll pop up as Storm in upcoming Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday.
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